At times reminiscent of Pablo Honey-era Radiohead and other times slightly Travis-esque, Midlake’s Milkmaid Grand Army EP is a somewhat melancholy and all-too-short debut for a band that has since released one additional EP and two full-lengths, with another scheduled for 2008. Originally released independently in 2001 by the Denton, Texas five-piece, Milkmaid… was recently re-issued by UK-based label Bella Union (The Dears, Devics, Beach House) for the consumption of those just jumping aboard.
Upon listening to the album, never once would I suggest the band was from America, let alone a small Bible Belt town just north of Dallas. The music is obviously influenced by the unmistakable sounds of Britpop—relatively clean guitars, fuzz-flooded vocals, and upbeat drumming set the tone in nearly every song. And since British accents are often unintelligible in vocals, Tim Smith’s lack thereof doesn’t really help in betraying their apparent English-ness.
But, nationalities and influences aside, the fact remains that this debut album shows the makings of an enthusiastic and talented band, despite the album containing only seven tracks. Standouts include the opener, “She Removes Her Spiral Hair,” “Excited But Not Enough”—which sounds a little more like something Muse might have written with its dirty guitars and falsetto vocals—and “Roller Skate (Farewell June),” which features a really infectious chorus that comes out of nowhere, considering the—dare I say it—Austin Powers soundtrack-esque, '60s-sounding verse arrangement. That’s not a dig. It’s an incredibly catchy song all the way around, but the chorus, in and of its self, is quite possibly my favorite thirty seconds on the entire album.
In the end, Milkmaid Grand Army is a really great album, one that foreshadows what has become a long and productive career for the British-but-not-really band from Denton, Texas. So go pick this one up, or any of their other albums. I’m sure you won’t be disappointed.
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